Analysis of two
Internet hate sites which attack
Gays and Lesbians

Sponsored link.

[We have added some of our own comments] to the
analysis below:

An Internet site with one of the longest and poorest spelled titles is by Pastor Peter J
Peters: "Intollerance [sic] of, Discrimination Against, and the DEATH PENALTY FOR
HOMOSEXUALS is Prescribed in the Bible" at: http://www.identity.org/files/homo.html

Pastor Peters appears to be from Colorado. His web page includes:

A dedication to those politicians (if any exist) who follow "God's
vote [rather] than man's." Although he does not define specifically what these
politicians do to gain God's vote, he later refers to soldiers who "uphold His
orders concerning homosexuality."

An introduction which quotes the familiar Bible
passages that are commonly used to criticize homosexual behavior, starting at:
Leviticus 20:13, Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Romans 1:18. He points out that the
Bible "advocates discrimination, intolerance and the DEATH PENALTY" for
active homosexuals. Some people hate Biblical truth and cannot accept it. Others are
confused by the Bible and feel that it is radical and extreme. He says that homosexuals
"are willing to prescribe the death penalty to those who oppose them."
He writes that the Bible does not allow homosexuals basic freedoms, like free speech, free
assembly, right to do business, right to act politically, to live with anyone they wish,
the right to live safely without being victimized by violence. [He
is correct that the Bible is intolerant of some sexual behaviors. But the passages that he
cites deal with gay ritual sex in Pagan temples, men sexually abusing boys and heterosexuals engaging in homosexual
orgies. The Bible is silent on consensual relations between persons of the same gender
in committed relationships.]

A note to the homosexual, he recommends that they demand that the Bible
be outlawed as hate literature, or at least have the offending passages removed. He
recommends some slogans that they can use.

A section "Intolerance, Discrimination and Law," in which he
shows that all law is inherently discriminatory and intolerant. Thus, a law which
prohibits discrimination against gay and lesbian accommodation or employment is itself
discriminatory and intolerant of Bible believers. [That is true. All
civil rights legislation is intolerant of hatred against the protected groups.]

A section "Determining Proper Discrimination and Intolerance",
where he says that youth are incorrectly told that they can choose their own sexual
orientations. They
are not told that God has laws in place against homosexuality. [He
uses the term "sexual preference" in place of
"sexual orientation." Sexual preference implies that
gays and lesbians are attracted to people of both genders, but
prefer one gender over the other. This is not true. Homosexuals
are attracted only to members of the same gender. If they were
attracted to both men and women, then they would not be
homosexuals; they would be bisexuals. If youths were able to chose their sexual orientation,
it is unlikely that many would ever choose to be gay
or lesbian and spend the rest of their life being hated and abused by others.]

A reprint of Public Law 97-280. This is a joint resolution of Congress
dated 1982-OCT-4, which asks the President to proclaim 1983 as the "Year of the
Bible." It states that the Bible is the word of God, and that the nation needs
"to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures." Thus, he
concludes that the government of the US has declared that the Bible, and the laws of God
that it contains, must be applied across the country. This includes the death penalty for
homosexuals, as required in passages starting: 1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 1:21, Leviticus
20:13. [This is a resolution not a law; if it were a law it would
have been declared unconstitutional long before now. The passages
cited are unrelated to consensual sex between persons of the same gender in a
committed relationship].

A section "Gay Leader Calls for Aids [sic] Terrorist Army." He quotes
an article in the Wall Street Journal which quotes Larry Kramer of the radical gay
organization Act Up. Kramer calls for an AIDS terrorist army. Pastor Peters
advocates laws like that of Connecticut in 1650 CE which call for the death penalty for
gays. [A most extreme radical is not typical of a movement.]

A section "Law is not Law Unless the Judgments are Applied."
He notes that homosexuality causes death in many forms: disease, serial murders, childless
and grandchildless families. Romans 1:32 calls for the death penalty for both homosexuals
and those who support equal rights for homosexuals. [One can hardly
define the lack of children as a murder of a child that might have been. Committing
genocide against all homosexuals is not going to generate more children and grandchildren.]

A section "Crime, Government and Revival." He equates the
concepts of sin and crime. Since one role of the government is to punish criminals, the
government must punish sin wherever it is found. This includes homosexuals who choose
their own life style. It includes what people do in the privacy of their own home. The
result will be repentance and a healing of the land. [There are as
many definitions of sin as there are sinners. There is a widespread belief that the
government should stay out of personal matters.]

A section "Answering...objections...". He considers
objections that people have raised. Some claim:

Jesus never condemned homosexuality. But Jesus upheld the Law which calls on
the death penalty for homosexual behavior. [True, but only if they
engaged in ritual sex in Pagan temples.]

Jesus advocated love, not hate. But the greatest commandment is to love God. To
love God means we must keep his commandments, which includes death to gays and lesbians. [See previous note.]

Judge not. but Jesus calls on his followers to judge other in John 7:24

The law is no longer required. Only ritual law has been declared no longer
valid.

The state should not interfere with people in the privacy of their homes. But
the government already does this with other sins, such as gambling and prostitution. [Perhaps they shouldn't.]

People should have the freedom to choose a homosexual life style. Jesus did not
die so that people could be free to murder or engage in homosexual acts. [Murder is a crime; homosexual acts are natural, normal (for gays and
lesbians).]

Morality cannot be legislated. But all law enforces somebody's morality.

Homosexuals are born that way and are persecuted. Gays and lesbians have a
reprobate mind worthy of death. The six leading US serial killers were motivated by a
sense of shame after having homosexual relations with their victims. [If this is true, then we need to reduce their sense of shame; their sexual
orientation is fixed. If they were not brought up to hate gays, perhaps they would not
have hated themselves when they found out that they were gay.]

Homosexuals can be saved.Few ever choose to repent and become
heterosexual. [Many don't repent because they do not see their
form of love as a sin. We have never located any homosexual who was able to become
heterosexual.]

A conclusion: If we do not kill all the homosexuals, then even more
people will die. "Homosexuals will continue to spread their form of death
and will continue to recruit the people's sons and daughters and threaten and carry out
their threats against any who oppose them." [Nobody can be
recruited into a sexual orientation. The homosexual movement (or any other movement) can
not be rationally judged by its most extreme members.]

A threatening and very angry quotation of Michael Swift, a "gay revolutionary."
Pastor Peters concludes with a call for lynching by vigilante groups, and
an appeal to create new sodomy criminal laws which will execute all gays
and lesbians.

He emphasizes that he doesn't hate homosexuals. He just abhors homosexuality "just
as our Maker does." He is motivated by a desire to "snatch people out
of the flames." "...they're going to be firewood." [Presumably he believes that all active gays and lesbians are destined to
spend eternity in Hell. That is some punishment for loving another human being!]

Jesus only accepts repentant sinners. Since active homosexuals continue to sin, then
they cannot be repentant. [kteckhar assumes that homosexual behavior
by gays and lesbians is a sin.]

He quotes Leviticus 20:13 which, in most English translations of the Bible, calls for
the death penalty for active homosexuals. He notes that God never changes his mind, that
Jesus said that not one miniscule part of the Law has become void. [A
closer analysis of the original Hebrew text shows that the passage, and the companion
passage of Leviticus 18:22 refer to homosexual sexual
rituals in Pagan temples]

He notes that "nations are being infected by a growing population of homosexual
offenders," and that the problem is virtually out of control. He sees no way of
cutting the problem down to size without a mass extermination of gay and lesbians. [We have not seen any data that shows that the number of homosexuals is
increasing. There is a word for his proposed action: genocide].

He concludes: "Therefore, we need to execute the Sodomizing of America before
America is Sodomized." Finally, he quotes Isaiah 1:10: "Hear the word
of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of
Gomorrah!" [The implication is that Isaiah condemned Sodom
and Gomorrah for their homosexual behavior. But if one reads the entire first chapter of
Isaiah, the Prophet is really condemning the people of Judah, who are repeatedly compared
with Sodom and Gomorra in their evildoing and depravity. Isaiah lists many sins of the
people: rebelling against God, lacking in knowledge, deserting the Lord, idolatry,
engaging in meaningless religious ritual, being unjust and oppressive to others, being
insensitive to the needs of widows and orphans, committing murder, accepting bribes, etc.
Homosexuality and other sexual activities were not mentioned at all.]

Presumably referring to the two apparently anti-homosexual passages in Leviticus, he
quotes the original Hebrew text which says that certain behavior is to'ebah, which
he translates as "an abhorrence or a disgusting thing." [But to'ebah is a religious term, usually reserved for use against
instances of idolatry. If the writer(s) of Leviticus wished to refer to a moral violation,
a sin, he/they would have used the Hebrew word zimah. To'ebah
could better be translated "foreign religious cult practice." The Greek
Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (circa 3rd century BCE) translated
"to'ebah" into Greek as bdelygma, which meant ritual impurity. Eating a
cheeseburger, charging interest on a loan, shaving a beard, sowing seeds in the corner of
a field were all "to'ebah".]

"So since God did not design homosexuality, it is abominable.
Homosexuality is developed from human depravity. NO ONE is born with a fully
developed homosexual instinct." [Of course, no one is born
that way. A fully developed homosexual orientation does not develop until their teenage
years - same as with heterosexuals.]